Xerox CEO sees services expanding to two-thirds of sales in 2017

Updated 10:03 pm, Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Ursula Burns, chief executive officer of Xerox Corp., speaks at the World Business Forum in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012.

Ursula Burns, chief executive officer of Xerox Corp., speaks at the World Business Forum in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012.

Photo: Peter Foley, Bloomberg

Xerox CEO sees services expanding to two-thirds of sales in 2017

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Bloomberg News

Xerox Corp., the printer and copier pioneer, predicted its services business will expand to two-thirds of revenue in 2017 from about half this year, helping mitigate waning demand for paper documents.

"We'll be able to have a low-growth business shifting to a high-growth business as we get more of our revenue from services," Chief Executive Officer Ursula Burns told investors at the company's annual conference Tuesday. "On balance, we're making progress, not fast enough. I'm not patient."

The Norwalk-based company is moving to services like automating payments for governments or processing claims for insurers as more consumers choose to view documents on mobile devices instead of printing them. Xerox Tuesday increased its buyback plan by $1 billion, raised its dividend and provided a 2013 profit forecast range with a median that matched predictions.

The company expects to allocate at least $400 million in cash for share repurchase next year, adding to the $900 million to $1.1 billion in stock buybacks planned for this year, according to a statement. Xerox boosted its dividend by 35 percent to 5.75 cents a quarter.

Restructuring expenses to improve profit in the services unit will amount to $100 million, or 5 cents a share, this quarter, Xerox said. Earnings excluding some items will total 28 cents to 30 cents a share. Analysts had predicted 32 cents, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.